"It's black."
"Black… you say?"
It wasn't about underwear.
No, if it were such a trivial topic, how much better things would have been.
"Based on our investigation, it appears there is no doubt that Ms. Okuda Kei’s fiancée has been unfaithful."
"You’re kidding me..."
I look up to the heavens.
A vague suspicion had taken on a concrete form, solidifying into certainty.
My fiancée—Kiryu Tooru—was cheating on me.
And it wasn’t some borderline case where one might argue the semantics of right and wrong.
No, it was unmistakably, irrevocably over the line.
Specifically, the private investigator I had hired caught the exact moment she walked out of a hotel, arm in arm with another man, and snapped a clear photo.
"This picture... hits hard..."
"I understand your pain. If needed, we can connect you with a law firm we partner with..."
"No… it hasn’t come to that."
"Understood. Then I’ll leave you with this photograph."
They were clearly experienced.
The investigator's demeanor remained calm and professional.
Why, Tooru… why?
To someone as average as me, she was far too good to be true.
A junior in my college club, sweet and affectionate… and incredibly cute.
"It was your sincere personality that drew me to you, Senpai."
That’s what she had told me.
Seven years had passed since we started dating.
I had proposed.
We had even met each other's parents.
The evidence was irrefutable, a hundred percent black.
Yet, I clung to a sliver of hope.
Maybe it’s just… cold feet before the wedding.
Maybe I hadn’t been attentive enough.
Maybe I had made her anxious, caused unnecessary worry… maybe it was my fault.
Surely, it was just a fleeting lapse in judgment.
Humans are prone to mistakes.
And as long as it’s a one-time error, perhaps it should be forgiven.
If we talked things through, surely we could work it out.
Dazed, my mind elsewhere, I left the investigator's office, stumbling as I walked.
We can work it out—
It didn’t take long for me to realize this was pure escapism.
* * *
"Ah… so you found out."
Immediately after I got home.
I asked Tooru to sit in the living room and showed her the photograph.
She casually flipped through the pictures, gave a small laugh, and said those words.
"I see."
Not even a single excuse.
This only confirmed the truth.
"So, what now? Are we breaking up?"
Tooru spoke nonchalantly, without the slightest hint of remorse.
"Before breaking up or not, don’t you have something to say first?!"
I slammed my fist down on the table.
The heavy sound reverberated, heat surging into my hand.
Moments later, that heat transformed into a dull, tingling pain.
Ah… I’m angry.
Even I was surprised by the force of my outburst. It was only then that I realized the depth of my emotions.
"Kei-san, this isn’t cheating."
"What do you mean by that?"
Tooru continued, as though mocking my inability to grasp the situation.
"Because, if we’re going by the timeline, Kei-san, you’re the other man."
"...What?"
She continued, smirking at my confusion.
"The man in this photo—he’s my childhood friend. Since middle school, we’ve been on and off… you know, one of those relationships."
"I don’t want to know about him!"
"We were physically involved long before you and I ever started dating."
I already knew I wasn’t her first.
I had accepted that when we began our relationship.
"Then why didn’t you cut ties with him?! We’re engaged! Isn’t that enough?!"
"Hmm, how should I put this… Marrying him isn’t financially feasible. But you, Kei-san, you earn well, so if I were to get married, it would be with you."
"What the hell?!"
"Oh, don’t worry. With him, it’s purely physical."
"You’ve got to be kidding me…"
"That’s why it’s true that I intended to marry you, Kei-san."
It was insane.
The things she was saying were nothing short of absurdly selfish.
The heat drained from my body.
Like falling out of love after a hundred years, like waking up from a dream.
"Get out."
"Huh?"
"Get out. We’re done. Pack your things and leave."
I bit my lip hard.
Clenching my fists tightly, trying with all my might to hold myself back.
“If I keep looking at her face, I don’t know what I might do.”
“So please—leave before I lose control.”
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